Improvement in governors for steam and other enginery



dinard ,ndere @anni @Wir-r',

THOMAS GILL, ou WALTHAM, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR To H IMSEL'N, JOHN STARK, AND JOHN STARK, an., on SAME PLAOE.

Letters PatfmtNo. 92,956, dated July 27, 1869.

IMPROVEMENT IN GOVERNORS FOR STEAM AND OTHER ENGINERY.

The Schedule referred to in these Lettera Patent and making of the same.

To all to whom these presents shall come:

Be it known that I, THOMAS GILL, of W'altham, iu the count-y of Middlesex, and Commonwealth of Massachusetts, have made an invention ofa new and useful Governor or Regulator for Steam-Engines or other Motors; and do'hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description thereof, due reference being had to the accompanying drawings, making part of ,this specification, and in which- AFigure lis a plan,

Figure 2, aside elevation,

Figure 3, a vertical central and longitudinal section, and

Figure 4, a vertical and transverse section of my invention, a view of the toothed wlleel andlsegmental rack, to be eigplained, being showirin Figure 5.

This invention relates to means for governing the valve of a steam-engine, in such manner as to regulate the movements of the valve with the expenditure of very little power, and one which shall detect and instantly equalize the slightest'variatiou of the speed of the engine from a given rate, the only power of any appreciable amount required in the present instance being that required to move the valve .upon its seat.

rlhe invention'consists in the employment or adaptation of the principles of the ordinary anchor-clock escapement, combined with the driving-shaft of the engine by a friction-connection, and operating in conjunction with a train of bevelled gears, and a toothed wheel, attached to the driving-shaft, and a sectoral lack and lever, connected with the valve, as hereinafter explained, the employment of the escapement enabling the device to be driven with the application of a very small amount of power, while, at the same time, it is verysensitive and effective in its operation.

In the drawings above referred to as accompanying this specification, and illustrating my inventiona a denote two standards or upiights, supporting, in suitable boxes, l1 b', a horizontal shaft, c, one extremity of such shaft being provided with a drivingpulley, cl, the opposite or front extremity or portion, e, of such shaft projecting, beyond the standard a, a suicient distance to receive and support the compound mechanism to be hereinafter explained, it being understood that the shaft c is to be driven, in a suitable manner, by power communicated from the 'engine with which the device is connected, or in any of the ordinary modes adopted in such cases.

A tubular, split, and slightly-tapering sleeve, f, eucompasses the shaft c, and disposed between the standards a a', as represented, the forward end of such sleeve of the engine, which the device is to regulate, in a having atxed to it a spur-gear, y, while upon the body of the sleeve is out a` male screw, lt, upon which isA screwed a nut, t', after the manner ofv ordinary drill-V `suitable bearings made in opposite inner faces of -the standards a, a', and disposed a short distance below, and about in alignment with the driving-shaft, the said shaft j carrying a pinion, k, which engages with the gear g, before mentioned.

In addition to the' pinion k, the shaft j carries a curved tooth, l, as shown in the drawings, such tooth operating in conjunction with a pallet, m, fixed to a second rocker-shaft, ,supported in bearings or brackets o o', making part of the standards a a', the shaft a being situated in rear of the shaft j, and at a slight elevation with respect thereto, the pallet being provided with a pendulum, 1, or its equivalent.

The pallet m and the curved tooth lconstitute, substantially, aclock-escapement, the rapid vibrations of the tooth, caused by the gear and pinion, converting it, essentially, into the ordinaryescape-wheel of an escapement.

The extreme outer end of the portion e of the ydriving-shaft c has a toothed wheel, q, applied loosely to it, in such manner as to revolve freely thereon,"while upon the inner face of such wheel is aixed a bevelgear, r, as exhibited in gs. 2 and 3 of the aocompanying drawings.

A second bevelled gear, s, is ixed tightly to the shaft c, and near the [standard a, while between and meshing into the gears r and sis a third bevelled gear, t, the three gears being counterparts of each other, and the latter being supported, independently of the others, upon or by means of an arm, a, extending laterally from or making part of a disk or collar,- v, turnling loosely about the driving-shaft, and disposed between the gear s and the standard a, as represented, and connected -with the sleeve f or spur-gear 'g by a sleeve, which extends through the bearing a b, as

Shown in iig. 3.

' A vibrating bent lever, w, is fulcrumed to the lower part of the standard a, as exhibited, the upright arm a of such lever having a Asectoral rack, b,n1eshi`ngv into the toothed wheel q, before mentioned, while the lower and horizontal arm c is connected with the valve suitable manner, it being understood, thatV when this latter arm is at its lowest position, the valve of the engine is full open. Conseqnentlyany elevation of this arm will tend to partiallyclose the port.

rlhe above description embraces the component parts and organization of my invention, which, though novel,

will be readily understood by mechanics. The operation of the device is as follows, it being understood that the driving-shaft c is in revolution in the direction of the arrow thereon: It will be obvious, from the above description, that when the friction-mechanism and the escape-tooth are stopped from revolving with the driving shaft, the toothed wheel q is driven, in the direction of its blue arrow, by the legitimate action of the three gears r s t, and operating upon the lever win closing the valveport.

Without the action of the escape-tooth and pallet, and while the friction-device or its equivalent is rotating freely with the driving-shaft, the intermediate gear revolves by and with the others without eiect. The toothed wheel q is also driven directly by and with the shaft in the direction of its red arrow, and, by depressing the lever w, tends to open the port, until the driving-shaft acquires such momentum as to revolve the friction-mechanism and its escape-tooth with such rapidity as to rotate 'the intermediate gear, t, upon its journal a' portion of the time, or during the intermittent periods of time, that the escape-tooth is stopped by the pulsations of tle pallet j. The greater the amount of time consumed in each of such stops, the longer will be the effect of the toothed wheel-upon the valve-lever, to close the valve. Consequently the device should be so adjusted, by changing the length of the pendulum-rod, or by other means, as to maintain a medium stand-point between' the effect of the two before-mentioned extremes, or so that the toothed wheel shall be at about the centre of the rack b.

Of course, the more rapid the Irevolutions of the drivin g-shaft from this medium point, the greater will be the distance travelled `by it during each intermittent stoppage of the frictionbrake by its escapement, with a consequent increase, as before mentioned, of the partial or whole revolution or revolutions described by the toothed Wheel q, and of the closing of the valve. Vice versa, the lslower the revolution ofthe shaft from the stand-point, the less the amount of time occupied in the stoppage of the friction-brake, and the greater What I lclaim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is

1. The clock-escapement mechanism, substantially such as herein described, to regulate or govern the speed of the engine or other motor with which it is connected, substantially in the manner shown and set forth. v

2. The combination, with the aforesaid escapemcntgoverning mechanism, for regulating the speed of the engine or other motor, of the-friction-sleeve or device whichconnects the same with the driving-sliaft, sub-4 i stantially as herein shown Aand set forth.

3. The arrangement, with the escapementmechanism and friction-brakel or sleeve, of the gears fr s t, toothed wheel q, lever w, and sectoral rack b', for transmitting power from the eseapement to the engine.

. THOMAS GILL.

Witnesses:

CHAs.- V. Wo'nnv, GEO. H. SHIRLEY. 

